Tom Brennan - MY METS PROSPECTS: #17 TOMAS NIDO

Tom Brennan - MY METS PROSPECTS: #17 TOMAS NIDO

Having tabbed catcher Pat Mazeika as my #16 prospect, I went with another catcher I could have easily put ahead of Mazeika, except that being a lefty myself, I am partial to lefty hitters like Pat.

Tomas Nido was an 8th rounder out of high school in 2012. 

In 2016, he excited every plugged-in Mets fan....that's me and about 4 other fanatics at last count - I mean, a defensive catcher who won the Florida State League batting title? You mean a catcher who could gun runners down AND drive runners in?  A scarce commodity.

Well, not so fast...AA was a much tougher challenge for Nido, as his average dropped from .320 in 2016 to .232 in 2017.  That's an EIGHTY EIGHT POINT DROP, for you math majors.

But it was not a total bust offensively by any means...he knocked in a decent 60 runs in just 102 games, because in half his at bats, which occurred with the bases empty, he hit just .190.  With men on base, though, he hit .275.  So he seems to respond well to pressure.  

Perhaps that is why he went 3 for his 10 as a Met after being promoted to Queens in September, with (lucky for him) the Mets needing a 3rd catcher with the luxury of having an expanded roster. "Sorry, Mr. AAA Xorge Carillo, we don't need you, but we will call up AA Nido instead - you don't mind, do you?"  But, as always, I digress...

Never more pressure than in one's first few major league at bats, and Nido acquitted himself well in a very limited sample.

Also to be kept in mind is that AA in 2017 was definitely a pitcher's league, so .232 is not quite as weak as it might first seem - but still not great.

Also to be kept in mind (wait, I just said that)  is that he started 2017 poorly, hitting just .188 on May 8.  He then surged the rest of May, and hitting .280 as late as June 11.  

He pretty much slumped the rest of the season, though, for reasons that I am not aware, to drop all the way back to .232 by season's end.  (He did, however, go 3 for 10 with 3 rib eyes in a September promotion to the big leagues, a feather in his cap).

He is a mensa mensa career .261/.304/.371 hitter.  Gary Sanchez, who is .283/.353/.567 as a major leaguer Nido clearly is not.  I was gonna write home about that, but there is nothing to write home about there.  Nido needs to hit more.

Perhaps he'd be further along if he played more, but he has only 407 games under his belt in 6 seasons.  A little more math - that works out to 68 games per season.  Nice part time job you've got there, Tomas.  Perhaps Sandy does not realize that if you played more, he still would not have to pay you overtime, and you might actually be major league ready by now.  But again I digress...

Defensively, it is clear he has a strong reputation.  Why else, in 85 games at catcher would the opposition only attempt to steal 51 times? Against Mazeika in St Lucie, runners tried him nearly 3 times as much, by comparison.  Probably because Nido gunned down 45% of them.  

Why as a runner bother to try to steal, unless you are in a hurry to get back to the dugout?  ("I'll just swipe my credit card later, it's easier.")

With catcher Kevin Plawecki improving, but with neither he nor Travis d'Arnaud having a hammer lock on that position, despite both having great Septembers, it certainly seems a possibility that by 2019, both Nido and Mazeika might form a new, young, lefty/righty hitting tandem for the Mets at the catcher position.  But both K Plaw and TDA currently are far superior hitters vs. the defensively superior Nido, so it remains just that - a possibility.

Both have a ways to improve for that to happen, but both will be just 24 next year, making them Young and Restless.

2018 will be key season for both Mazeika and Nido if that scenario is to become a reality.

But I have Mr. Nido as my # 17 for 3 reasons: great defense; OK offense; and the Mets are light on top prospects.

Tomorrow, on to # 18.